We wish them, all of you reading this and our colleagues in other European countries and elsewhere, many of whom had gone into lockdown before us, well during this unprecedented period.

While all the events we had lined-up this year are suspended, we hope that many of them will still happen at a later date. This includes plans for events in the UK, Czech Republic, France, Spain, Germany, Netherlands and Italy.

And while events such as First Light Festival have been suspended for 2020, we hope we may be able to involve these partners in our other projects later in the year.

Some of our European dates, which were scheduled to begin in April, are potentially still going ahead, although it is unlikely they will take place soon.

Noise of Art’s programming role in the Woodbridge Festival will also still go ahead, although we’re expecting a delay to the original date – which was the Weekend of 11 July.

DJ Ben Osborne played the National Portrait Gallery. This has now also become the last DJ date at the gallery until it re-opens in 2022, after a major refurbishment. It marks a ten year stint since Noise of Art held our first whole building event at the NPG in 2010. And 10 years since we first suggested regular DJ slots to the gallery’s then music team. We are proud DJ events have run weekly ever since and we hope they will return to the gallery when it re-opens.

Opening the Traders Unpacked season in the new high tech East India Gallery and new wing of the NMM, Noise of Art takes inspiration from the way Eastern sea routes have brought new cultures into London, and changed our art, music, film and clubs.

The programme sees two of London’s longest running club nights unite, as DJ Ritu, of London South Asian club Kali and BBC Radio, lines-up alongside Rita Ray, of the influential London African club, Shrine.

Singaporean act Portfolio will be playing deep house (the East India Company established its first base in Singapore), alongside the Afro -Indian singer of Dec Shoes. Japanese fronted Krautrock act Cosmic Onion Field will add live music, while Overlap unveils the new version of an evolving film-as-art portrait of Anna Mae Wong – the first Chinese film star, who made her debut in a film set in nightclubs in the 1920s in the East London docks.

Sikh beat-boxer Jason Singh, who started working with film after winning a PRS for Music Foundation Award in 2010, is creating a new collaborative work, with poet Avaes Mohammed and film maker T.J Jeffrey, specially for the night.

East London’s finest salty sea dogs, The City Sea Shanty Band, singing the odd song about bottles of rum. Contemporary dancers The People Pile will be performing a themed piece and 360 degree projectionists Your Mum and mobile movie projector Strap On will be adding their unique imagery… and more.